The Declaration of Independence has always been treasured as the nation’s birth certificate. Yet some of those who signed the document are little known to us today. This is especially true of the four members of the Second Continental Congress who signed for N.Y. -- Philip Livingston, Lewis Morris, William Floyd, and Francis Lewis. These four patriots have been overshadowed by more illustrious New Yorkers such as John Jay, Philip Schuyler, and Alexander Hamilton, who earned historical reputations on the battlefield or in national politics. These four brief biographical sketches help to reintroduce the four men who were willing to risk retaliation upon themselves and their families in order that our nation could be free and independent. Illus.